Strawberry
by Poppymelon
Summary: Red fingerprints. Pieces of fruit. -Sasayan/Natsume


Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in My Little Monster (Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun)

1.

Natsume's eating a strawberry.

Sasayan can't look away even though he knows he _should_, especially considering the consequences if Natsume catches him ('Pervert!') but his eyes seem glued to the way her lips part around the red fruit and her small teeth bite into the soft flesh and the way her tongue darts out to lick-

Natsume shifts and he knows in that split second that she's going to turn around so he somehow manages to tear his eyes away. Luckily, the maths textbook is open right on the table so his eyes try to find sanctuary inside the small letters and numbers of algebra.

'Don't you want a strawberry?' Natsume asks. She waves her half eaten one in front of his face.

'Nah,' Sasayan replies, trying to sound nonchalant. 'They're too sweet.'

'Really?' says Natsume. She licks her lips from her position on the couch and studies the small fruit and Sasayan is glad that nobody else is in the batting centre right now to see his eyes flick back up. He bets that the juice is staining her fingertips red. When he bikes her back home later and she clutches onto his white t-shirt, it'll probably come off. Sasayan doesn't mind though.

'Mm!'

He looks up just in time to see strawberry juice quickly slide down Natsume's chin. Her eyes are wide in surprise and Sasayan _moves._

He manages to close the distance between them in a flash and before Natsume can pre-empt him, he licks up the excess juice trailing down her chin and presses his mouth to hers.

Natsume makes a sound at the back of her throat but doesn't pull away. Sasayan can taste bits of strawberry on her lips and pushes past them. He explores the sweet cavern of her mouth and feel Natsume's small hand grasp his shirt. Red fingerprints. Pieces of fruit.

Their lips make a noise when the two separate and Sasayan chews thoughtfully.

'You know,' he says grinning, 'Strawberry ain't so bad.'

'You-you,' Natsume splutters. 'What are you, a cat?' She wipes a hand over her lower lip. 'You better be grateful I'm not wearing makeup today. If I did, your tongue would be totally caked in foundation.'

Sasayan pulls a face. He looks up the remainder of the strawberry Natsume is clutching.

Natsume follows his eyes and gulps. 'Y-You can't!' she cries, holding the strawberry to her chest.

Sasayan just grins.

2.

Natsume admits that she doesn't know the first thing about kissing, handholding, and basically all the physical and touchy stuff that comes in a relationship.

So it irks her to no end that Sasayan seems like he knows what he's doing. _Always._ He is able to make her heart slow down, then stop, then start up again, beating a million times faster than before. He makes her feel amazing and wonderful and _worth something_ and Natsume wants to dance and cry and laugh and explode into stars.

The first kiss she shares with Sasayan (and her _first kiss_ too) is under the streetlight in front of her house.

It's nice.

And not just physically nice, the feeling of lip on lip, but nice, like the gentle red flower that's blossoming inside her chest and the way she doesn't need to stand on her tippy toes because Sasayan's bending down. She likes the slope of his shoulders, wide enough so she feels safe but not broad enough to make her feel scared.

The second kiss that follows four seconds later is something else.

It leaves her panting because she's actually forgotten to breathe, something she's read about but never experienced, and she feels charged with electricity from the tips of her fingers to the bottom of her toes. Her head feels a little dizzy as they part and Natsume feels _alive_.

Sasayan rests his hands on her shoulders.

'Are you okay?' he asks.

Natsume nods slightly, a little dazed and wordless.

'Not freaking out?'

She starts to shake her head but stops. She starts thinking. Of the way his lips expertly moved around her own, the way his tongue knew how to enter her mouth without feeling like it was invading.

'Sasayan-kun…' Natsume trembles.

Sasayan looks concerned. 'Natsume?'

She bursts out into a wail and he steps back, startled and just a _little_ scared.

'WHERE DID YOU LEARN TO KISS? Are you a playboy? How many girls have you kissed? I don't understand! Didn't you say you only had _one_ ex-girlfriend?'

Natsume feels herself going red in the face and she knows she needs to get inside now before her brain explodes.

'HOW CAN YOU KISS SO WELL WHEN I'M ONLY THE SECOND GIRL?' she ends up screaming before running inside her house.

Silence.

Sasayan stands by himself and the cold wind starts to pick up. The beginnings of a confused smile picks up around the edge of his mouth.

'…thanks?'

Two weeks later, Natsume presses her mouth to a spot on Sasayan's collarbone, and when she feels him moan and clutch her back, she feels a little bit better. She catches him muttering, 'And I'm supposed to be the first boy?' and almost smacks him.

She settles for another kiss instead.

3.

Contrary to popular belief, Sasayan worries.

Not a lot but there's still some fears behind that bright teasing smile and easy gait.

One of the most constant ones is Natsume leaving him.

He thinks about it before he falls asleep, an irritable itch that he has to wave away before drifting off. It flashes across his mind when he brushes his teeth and it also rises up during the middle of the day, when they enter a café and Sasayan spots someone tall, mature and wearing sunglasses (with a _striking_ resemblance to Micchan).

But Sasayan's a reasonable guy.

Natsume wouldn't kiss just anyone just like this, he thinks, pressed up against a wall by a pair of pink lips and soft manicured hands. He sighs as he feels her fingers slip under his shirt and trace patterns on his stomach.

Patterns of her, of Asako Natsume, drawn and burnt on him, unfading.

The lump of worry is smoothed over by her tongue, sweeping across his lips. Sasayan opens his mouth and his mind is at ease.

Little does he know, every day, Natsume worries over the exact same thing.

It's something they have in common.

4.

'Did Meiko start another fight with Tachibana again?'

Natsume traces the panes on Sasayan's chest as their legs tangle together. The traffic from the heart-throbbing city leaks in from their windows and Sasayan closes his eyes.

'Nope. I think I sorted it out.'

Natsume smiles. Sasayan had come back from work the first day with a list of names. When she asked him what he was doing, Sasayan replied that he was memorising new people. A week later, he had the whole office under his thumb. Typical.

Sasayan's finger lazily stroked Natsume's hair. He stifled a yawn.

'Hey,' he said, poking her cheek. 'Have you replied to Shizuku and Haru's invitation yet?'

'Of course!' Natsume replied vibrantly. 'How could I forget about Mitty and Haru's wedding? They're getting married…'

She finishes her sentence with a dreamy sigh. She stares at the ceiling and misses Sasayan's tender look.

'Do you know what you're going to wear yet?'

'The pink dress. The one with frills.'

Sasayan hums and rests his hand on the curve of her shoulder. 'Good. I like that dress.'

Natsume glows. 'I have this idea for their wedding gift! Nagoya's gonna be really lonely after Haru becomes a husband so I was thinking of getting him a lady friend…'

She trails off after she notices that Sasayan's eyes are closed and his breathing has deepened.

'Hey, hey,' pouts Natsume. 'How can you sleep when I'm talking?'

She watches his face, still as lovely as it was in high school. Her eyes are light in the darkness and she kisses his cheek.

'Goodnight.'


End file.
